Namdrol wrote:It is very clear -- some people like Chogyam and his trip; other people think it is bullshit. So, nothing has changed. Some people like Dzogchen, other people think it is bullshit. Some people like Mahamudra, other people think it is bullshit. Some people like Gelug, other people think it is bullshit. Some people like Lamdre, other people think it is bullshit.Some people like gzhan stong, other people think it is bullshit. Some people like Tibetan Buddhism, other people think it is bullshit. Some people like Zen, other people think it is bullshit. Some people like Buddhism, other people think it is bullshit.

So, we have gone nowhere further than discovering some people like Chogyam and his trip, and other people think it is bullshit.

N

But we are having fun.

If you are not having fun, or do not like the discussion for another reason, there is no reason you should be forced to read it.

I think this thread has served it's purpose and both parties have addressed the points put to them. We should all be minimizing our Dharma gossip and get on with our practice, whichever practice we have chosen to undertake.

The thread is locked for the time being.

How foolish you are, grasping the letter of the text and ignoring its intention! - Vasubandhu

Years ago, I had read the book: "Dangerous Friend, The Teacher-Student Relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism" by Rigdzin Dorje, Shambhala publications. I think it can be a useful guide for new people.

An excerpt from the back-cover of the book:

"Although Tibetan Buddhism continues to grow in popularity, the crucial relationship between teacher and student remains largely misunderstood. Dangerous Friend offers an in-depth exploration of this mysterious and complex bond, a relationship of paramount importance in Tibetan Buddhist practice.

According to Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the student must have complete trust in the teacher (the "dangerous friend") if he or she is to achieve any understanding. It is the teacher's responsibility to uphold the integrity of the tradition, the basis of which is compassion for all beings, by transmitting it properly to an appropriate student. Likewise, it is the student's responsibility to meet the challenge of carrying on the lineage of teachings. By entering such a relationship, both teacher and student accept the burden of protecting those teachings by understanding them completely and correctly, by practicing them fully and faultlessly, and by transmitting them without omission.

Dronma wrote:Years ago, I had read the book: "Dangerous Friend, The Teacher-Student Relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism" by Rigdzin Dorje, Shambhala publications. I think it can be a useful guide for new people.

Would have ben good if Mr Dorje had taken his own advice in choosing his teacher. here he is in costume

Dronma wrote:Years ago, I had read the book: "Dangerous Friend, The Teacher-Student Relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism" by Rigdzin Dorje, Shambhala publications. I think it can be a useful guide for new people.

Would have ben good if Mr Dorje had taken his own advice in choosing his teacher. here he is in costume

Dronma wrote:Years ago, I had read the book: "Dangerous Friend, The Teacher-Student Relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism" by Rigdzin Dorje, Shambhala publications. I think it can be a useful guide for new people.

Would have ben good if Mr Dorje had taken his own advice in choosing his teacher. here he is in costume

Yes, I know Aro gTér website since many years ago. They have uploaded some interesting information there. Costumes are irrelevant.... What that has to do with the validity of what he is writing in that book? PS. I am not a follower of Aro lineage, but I am not opponent either.

"My view is as vast as the sky, but my actions are finer than flour" ~ Padmasambhava ~

Dronma wrote:Years ago, I had read the book: "Dangerous Friend, The Teacher-Student Relationship in Vajrayana Buddhism" by Rigdzin Dorje, Shambhala publications. I think it can be a useful guide for new people.

Would have ben good if Mr Dorje had taken his own advice in choosing his teacher. here he is in costume

Yes, I know Aro gTér website since many years ago. They have uploaded some interesting information there. Costumes are irrelevant.... What that has to do with the validity of what he is writing in that book? PS. I am not a follower of Aro lineage, but I am not opponent either.

The whole thing is made up.It's a fake lineage.They arent even mangoes.

Nangwa wrote:The whole thing is made up.It's a fake lineage.They arent even mangoes.

Maybe. But the book is interesting and is giving much information about the relationship between teacher and student! Reading a book does not mean that we have to bow down to the writer and accept him/her as our spiritual teacher....

Last edited by Dronma on Sat Apr 21, 2012 1:43 am, edited 1 time in total.

"My view is as vast as the sky, but my actions are finer than flour" ~ Padmasambhava ~

Nangwa wrote:The whole thing is made up.It's a fake lineage.They arent even mangoes.

Maybe. But the book is interesting and is giving many information about the relationship between teacher and student! Reading a book does not mean that we have to bow down to the writer and accept him/her as our spiritual teacher....

True.Buying the book does however in a circuitous way offer financial support to someone who buys their groceries through the intentional deception of sentient beings for profit. Not that this is at all your fault, they are just creeps for doing what they do.

Nangwa wrote:The whole thing is made up.It's a fake lineage.They arent even mangoes.

Maybe. But the book is interesting and is giving many information about the relationship between teacher and student! Reading a book does not mean that we have to bow down to the writer and accept him/her as our spiritual teacher....

True.Buying the book does however in a circuitous way offer financial support to someone who buys their groceries through the intentional deception of sentient beings for profit. Not that this is at all your fault, they are just creeps for doing what they do.

I did not even "buy" that book..... But this is out of topic anyway.... In any case, I did not introduce Rigdzin Dorje as a qualified guru here, and it is not necessary someone to be qualified guru for writing a good book. Isn't it?

"My view is as vast as the sky, but my actions are finer than flour" ~ Padmasambhava ~

Dronma wrote:I did not even "buy" that book..... But this is out of topic anyway.... In any case, I did not introduce Rigdzin Dorje as a qualified guru here, and it is not necessary someone to be qualified guru for writing a good book. Isn't it?

It is definitely off topic.No more discussion of the Aro weirdos from me unless its on topic.

I'm sorry to continue with the off-topic comments, but to clarify: I was referring to the cowboy look. I've spent a significant part of my life in the rural American West. There's nothing more ridiculous than fake cowboy gear. Can it possibly look anything other than ridiculous in Europe, on Europeans with notably poor posture for people who profess to teach any kind of meditation?

a question for another thread.

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By understanding everything you perceive from the perspective of the view, you are freed from the constraints of philosophical beliefs.By understanding that any and all mental activity is meditation, you are freed from arbitrary divisions between formal sessions and postmeditation activity.- Longchen Rabjam -